Introducing Balance InStyle's New Service!

Big news from the team here at Balance InStyle – we’re happy to introduce our newest virtual line called BALANCE. 

BALANCE is a productivity accelerator geared towards busy professionals and entrepreneurs. This services allows busy people to delegate strategic tasks to their very own VPA ( Virtual Personal Assistant). All the convenience of a personal assistant minus the full time salary.

We believe GOOD help should be accessible, affordable and NOT hard to find!

Since founding Balance InStyle in 2006,  Concierge Services have become increasingly more popular due to a common problem, lack of time. Time is our most important asset and we at Balance InStyle want to help you save it!  

Our VPA's can now schedule meetings, manage your calendar, book travel, respond to emails and complete other business tasks, as well as pay bills, order custom gifts, deal with customer service issues, make those dreaded A/R calls and even schedule that long overdue dentist's appointment. 

Your needs are unique and we take the time to get to know you so we can be proactive on your behalf. We are not a call centre. You actually deal with a live, local person who can make things happen while you are doing what you do best.

This service is exclusively virtual, so we do not run errands or perform in-person physical tasks. However, not to worry as we can still provide those services as you require at a rate of $65/hour. 

Now you can run your business without wearing so many hats as Balance InStyle combines the skills and talents of many into a single, powerful team. You gain access to our entire skill set, but only need to remember one name, your own dedicated VPA.

I bet you're saying, this all sounds great, but give me an example of how this works? 

Imagine never having to say ever again " I'm available Tuesday or Thursday of next week between 1-4"and having a slew of emails going back and forth to land on a time that works for all parties. We can manage your calendar for you. Simply CC "your VPA" when you need to schedule an appointment or have us reach out to the third party. We'll work out the details and add the event to your integrated Google calendar. 

Bills? Paid. Inbox? Cleared. Travel? Booked. See how simple life can be?

We've taken all the precautions to keep your data safe. So sharing any sensitive information such as credit cards, account numbers, log in etc ... are now all automated and encrypted for your protection. Our team of VPA's have jumped through the proverbial hoops, signed confidentiality agreements and have been security cleared. What happens at Balance InStyle, stays at Balance InStyle!

Our Virtual Plans start at $159/mth. 

Also, our new website is in development as is our new app ( yup! there's an app for that too now )but we didn't want to wait until the Spring to share the good news that affordable help is here to stay, so consider this our early Easter gift to you!

If you are ready to supercharge your productivity and get more done than you ever imagined possible, we've love to hear from you!

Many ways to get in touch. By phone 613-440-4446, by email info@balanceinstyle.com or come be social on Facebook.

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Delegate Delegate Delegate!

You can't do everything yourself. And the bigger your business grows, the truer this becomes. That's why it's so essential to master the art of delegation. Delegating the day-to-day work of your business frees you up to think big, cultivate relationships with clients, nail down new sources of revenue, and do the things that only you can do. 

Set your ego aside. A big mental roadblock to delegation is that "If you want something done right, then do it yourself." You're not the only person in the world who can do it right. You may be the only person who can do it right at this very moment, but if you take a few minutes to download your needs to someone competent, they'll probably be able to do it right, too. Who knows - they might even do it faster or better than you (gasp!) 

We all know that we need to be good at delegating in order to have any traction in our careers. We need to be able to learn how to do something and then teach someone else how to do it, so that we can move on and learn how to do something new. This is as true for creative people as it is for management types.

Yet even though we know this, most of us have trouble actually doing it. Many people think they’re the exception to the rule — that delegating is important, but in their very unique, particular case, it’s impossible.

Newsflash: It’s never impossible to delegate — it’s all in the mind of the delegator. Here are seven ways to get started on the road to all-star delegation:

Get over your perfectionist streak. The key to delegating is recognizing that your ability to do things perfectly isn’t as highly valued as you think it is. In fact, perfectionism isn’t valuable in 80 percent of the work we do. If you think you’re the exception to this rule — which all perfectionists do — consider that perfectionism is so unhealthy that it’s a risk factor for depression. This should make delegating come easier. Delegating can be scary, especially if you are a perfectionist. Here are some tools to help you in the art of delegation.

Use Google Docs.  It’s a great tool to record and share information about your procedures, because you don’t need to worry if your team members have the latest version. It updates real-time.

These days, we at Balance InStyle use project management software called Basecamp (you might also use Asana, Wrike or any other software you find helpful) Basecamp makes it easy for people in different roles with different responsibilities to communicate and work together. It’s a place to where my team share files, have discussions, collaborate on documents, assign tasks, and check due dates.

Decide what’s most important. In order to figure out what to delegate, you need to figure out what’s most important to your career. This means you need to know what your specialty is, what you’re known for, and what your unique value is to the company. Anything that falls outside this isn’t that important to you. Once you understand this, delegating most things will be easier. 

Trying putting together a mind map  (in a Mindmup ) all of the things that are important for your career and where you can start to leverage help, maybe in the form of a VPA. (Virtual Personal Assistant)

Here are the Top Tasks You Can Delegate To Your VPA today:

Calendar – Setup a shared calendar and let your VPA manage, schedule, and arrange your calendar. Allow your VPA to handle the back-and-forth of setting up appointments. Most use Google calendar which is great because when your VPA confirms a meeting it will sync directly to your mobile device.

Email – It is a time waster. Allow your VPA to filter out the small stuff, and prioritize inquiries so that you only see the ones that need your attention. You can also setup a personal email account for them on your business domain so it appears that they are in-house.

Track Projects – Managing projects, deadlines, and deliverables can be tough when you are busy. Setup a common project platform so that you can share project status updates. We use Basecamp to manage projects, and it too syncs directly to my iPhone so another time saver, I can track on the go!

Invoicing – Invoicing is an important task that many small businesses put off, yet it it crucial to operations. Let your VPA send, track, and receive your business invoices. This is particularly useful for small businesses or entrepreneurs. Let them manage your AR and call clients on your behalf as well, that way you don't feel like you are hounding the clients.

Research – Searching the web may seem like a simple and quick task. However, it can be a major time sink when your quick search turns into a multi-hour surfing session. Let you VPA do simple research for you.

Expense Reports – Another paperwork project to delegate to your VPA is expense tracking. It seems to be a generally hated task by all business people. Let your VPA organize your expenses and receipts. It is easy to share receipt images and documents via Dropbox or an expense app or even Basecamp.

Travel – People don’t like to give up control of travel. But, how long do you waste looking at flights to get just the right one? Let your VPA book your travel and use a system such as TripIt or Trip Case to sync your itinerary to your mobile device and calendars.

Proofreading – It doesn’t matter how many times you proofread that presentation; you are still going to overlook the typo. Let your VPA be a second set of eyes on all types of documents. Maybe you've run out of time of creative juices; let your VPA explore other options to your creative writing block.

If you want more time for yourself, maybe it’s time you explore the art of delegation and hire a VPA of your own. 

Remember: reluctance to give up control of tasks is probably a sign that you need some assistance. In many cases, a VPA can perform your administrative tasks faster, better, and more effectively than you can.

Delegate, delegate, delegate.

Miracle in the making

Our superpower as a Concierge is making the IMPOSSIBLE possible, afterall the word itself says I'm Possible right? 

At Balance InStyle we've seen it and heard it all, ( we will share a little below before we get into our miracle in the making ). 
Yesterday we received our biggest most meaningful challenge yet and we've accepted it, but need your help to make it happen.

We are the company that gets the emergency calls when someone wants to propose to their girlfriend in another country and get married on the SAME trip. ( we made it happen, she said yes and she had 2 dresses to choose from and we caught it all on video for them to share with family and friends ) or the panic call to export a dog to Australia in 5 days, the owners had to leave the country and the dog was left behind tied up in all the red tape. Literally. If you know anything about doing this, it was like a covert CIA mission. ( success Jersey was reunited with his family ).

We've arranged trips on less than 2 days notice to Iceland. Complete with a helicopter tour, ice scuba diving, northern lights, snowmobiling to name a few. Formula 1 trips to Monaco complete with driver access and rooftop views. 6 week long trips across Australia by camper mapping all the sites and check in's and tours along the way. ( LOTS of wineries, our kind of trip! )

We've been that call when pipes have burst and a clean up needs to happen ASAP or tenants have trashed the house and entire renos need to happen.

We've married people, ( YUP we are licensed officiants too ) tracked down the hard to find items, broken up with people and have just been available at a moments notice to run errands to be a sanity saver to so many of our clients. From Glamour to Janitor we like to say.

Our job is so beautiful because EVERY DAY is another adventure. 

As I type out this blog, our team is running around the city trying to source 3 stools by 4pm today, is meeting a door company to replace 2 doors for another client, purchasing sheets and blow up mattresses for another for the long family weekend ahead. Groceries, LCBO runs and dropping off organized and itemized tax reports and it's ONLY Tuesday!

This brings me to our BIGGEST challenge yet ... We LOVE making the impossible possible and love being the one that people call when they need to make miracles happen. Let's face it. This is WHY we do what we do!

Yesterday, a long time client of our reached out to us and asked us for help. ( grab a tissue cause this is the heart-breaking part ). Her sister Niki 29 was diagnosed in April of 2012 with Rhabdomayosarcoma - undifferentiated. (means basically it is too aggressive to stage)

She has gone through two rounds of intense chemotherapy and two rounds of intense radiation to her face/neck. This past September she had to have surgery to remove the cancer cells that had reappeared in her neck/jaw. 

They all thought that would be the end of it however, there was a new tumour that showed up in her lower sacrum region and in addition the cancer had spread to her spine.  At this point the doctors have diagnosed it terminal and prognosis was given at 2-3 months.  That was thanksgiving long weekend.

Niki went through a difficult period in the past 3 months due to the cancer spreading to her knees (radiation was successful in assisting with symptom relief) and also due to finding the right balance of medications.

She is currently in a better state mentally and able to walk around (for short periods) and able to complete short activities. She attributes a lot of strong will power to the works of spiritual healers and authors. Joel Osteen's book was given to her by a friend and its become her go to book for strength and positivity. 

Niki was part of the first graduating class at Waterloo Pharmacy School in 2011. She completed her licensing right before her diagnosis but has managed to work in between her treatments as a pharmacist. She was working in a pharmacy that specializes in natural remedies before her surgery in September. Even though the past three years have been a roller-coaster ride, Niki has used it as a catalyst to become a person she is proud of.

Her dying wish is to connect with Joel Osteen to help prepare her for her last journey. 

This young woman's life was extended she believes because of the strength that she found in Joel and his work and we've accepted the challenge of helping grant this final wish.

We need help to make this happen though.  I've reached out to Joel and his wife Victoria on Twitter but appreciate they have a million tweets a day. We've reached out to the ministry as well. Maybe we can get this treading. Shared? Re-tweeted? #lastwishforniki so they can't help but notice this wonderfully courageous young woman wish? If you have a Facebook account, you can share the link and #lastwishforniki same on twitter and LinkedIn. Somehow I believe that the power of social media will work if we all give a little bit of ourselves.

There are no fancy trips being asked. No extravagances  Just a desire to connect and thank a man who has helped her find the strength to fight another day.

What do you say? #lastwishforniki????

Heartfelt gratitude in advance for sharing and helping us bring a peace and love to another fellow woman. #girlpower

xo